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Stan Lee death: Legendary Marvel comic book writer behind Spider-Man and X-Men dies, aged 95

Lee co-created Marvel in 1961 with Jack Kirby

Clémence Michallon

New York

Monday 12 November 2018 20:18 GMT

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Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee dies aged 95

Stan Lee, the co-creator of Marvel Comics, has died at the age of 95.

An ambulance was called to his home in Hollywood Hills on Monday morning and took him to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he died, TMZ reports.

The comic book writer’s daughter confirmed her father’s death to the website and the Reuters news agency.

Lee had suffered from pneumonia in February this year. He also struggled with vision issues and had revealed in 2016 he could no longer read the comics he created.

Marvel began in 1961 with The Fantastic Four, a team of superheroes created by Lee and his colleague Jack Kirby, designed to appeal to an older audience at a time when comic books were mostly read by children.

Other characters co-created by Lee include Spider-Man, Black Panther, the Hulk, Doctor Strange, Thor, Iron Man, Daredevil and the X-Men.

Lee was also famous for making cameo appearances in almost all of the Marvel movies (his absence from the 2017 film Logan was promptly noticed by fans), typically showing up at slightly incongruous moments.

A native of Manhattan, New York City, Lee started out in 1939 as an assistant at Timely Comics, the company that would ultimately be rebranded as Marvel Comics.

He eventually became the face of Marvel, and published his last comics in 1972 to focus on his duties as publisher.

As the top writer at Marvel Comics and later as its publisher, Lee is credited with reviving the industry in the 1960s by keeping the costumes and actions so beloved by younger readers, while adding more sophisticated plot, satire, science fiction, college-level dialogue, and even touches of philosophy.

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Stan Lee presents Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson at Stan Lee’s Los Angeles Comic-Con at Los Angeles Convention Center on 28 October, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Rich Polk/Getty Images for Entertainment Weekly) ((Photo by Rich Polk/Getty Images for Entertainment Weekly))

“He felt an obligation to his fans to keep creating,” his daughter JC Lee said in a statement.

“He loved his life and he loved what he did for a living. His family loved him and his fans loved him. He was irreplaceable.”

The last tweet posted from Lee’s Twitter account featured a photo of him taken when he was serving in the US Army, which he entered in 1942. Lee has said that his title during the Second World War was “playwright”.

Lee’s relationship with Marvel was at times contentious. In 2002, the creator sued the company for royalties related to franchises such as Spider-Man, X-Men, and Hulk.

Marvel settled in 2005.

The Coen brothers films — ranked

Show all 17

1/17The Coen brothers films — ranked

The Coen brothers films — ranked

17. The Ladykillers (2004)

The first film in which Joel and Ethan Coen shared both producing and directing credits; previously Joel had always been credited as director and Ethan as producer. A largely pointless remake of the classic Ealing comedy, this has some funny moments and Tom Hanks gives a committed performance in the Alec Guinness role – but one can’t help but wonder why they bothered.

Touchstone Pictures

The Coen brothers films — ranked

16. Intolerable Cruelty (2003)

The film that preceded 'The Ladykillers', this was the siblings’ first job as writers-for-hire. Tapping into a similar vein of screwball comedy to Preston Sturges's work in the Forties, it has a formidable cast: George Clooney, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Geoffrey Rush are excellent. Yet this is a rare Coen comedy that does not stand up to a repeat viewing.

Snap Stills/REX/Shutterstock

The Coen brothers films — ranked

15. Hail, Caesar! (2016)

Audiences felt misled by 'Hail, Caesar!' due to its panoply of Hollywood stars and laugh-heavy trailer. The result was a huge discrepancy in enjoyment between the critics and the punters. A love letter to the golden age of Hollywood, this is one of their lighter efforts, but some of the recreations of film styles of yore are dazzling.

The Coen brothers films — ranked

14. Burn After Reading (2008)

This one finds the lads in a playful mood: a spy caper populated with idiotic characters portrayed by the likes of George Clooney, Brad Pitt and John Malkovich (the latter’s pronunciation of “memoir” is a highlight). The plot is less important than the dialogue, characterisation and jokes. Pitt shows a real aptitude for comedy as a dim-witted fitness instructor.

The Coen brothers films — ranked

13. True Grit (2010)

Some see 'True Grit' as a poor man’s 'No Country for Old Men', but this is a more faithful adaptation of the Charles Portis novel than the John Wayne version. The Coens, so often accused of cynicism, have rarely produced anything more heartfelt. Hailee Steinfeld, in her breakthrough role, is staggeringly good as a teenager attempting to avenge the murder of her father.

REX

The Coen brothers films — ranked

12. Miller’s Crossing (1990)

There are those who consider this gangster flick — released in the same year as Scorsese’s 'Goodfellas' — to be the Coens' peak achievement. Slow and contemplative, the film contains two of the greatest moments in the entire Coen filmography: John Turturro in the woods and Albert Finney under the bed. Scorsese would later direct the pilot episode of 'Boardwalk Empire', a television show with more than a hint of 'Miller’s Crossing'.

20th Century Fox

The Coen brothers films — ranked

11. Raising Arizona (1987)

The opening 11 minutes of the Coens’ sophomore effort — before the title even appears — is one of the most beautiful, hilarious and perfectly executed sequences in modern cinema. Nicolas Cage didn’t enjoy the experience of making 'Raising Arizona' since the filmmakers allow their actors very little leeway in terms of improvisation. Holly Hunter has rarely been better and this contains some of the funniest Coen scenes.

20th Century Fox

The Coen brothers films — ranked

10. The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)

The Coens attempt at a family film (“you know, for kids”) that was expected to make waves at the box office but proved a flop, perhaps partly as a result of its idiosyncratic title. This is a comedy with shades of Sturges and Frank Capra. The flashback involving the tailor might be the most perfect gag in the entire Coen canon.

Universal Pictures

The Coen brothers films — ranked

9. Barton Fink (1991)

John Turturro stars as Barton Fink, a playwright attempting to write a screenplay in a deserted hotel while wrestling with his demons and/or John Goodman. Sharp, with a good dose of pathos, it deservedly won the Palme d'Or in 1991. That the Coens decided to make a film about writer’s block while they themselves were struggling to complete 'Miller’s Crossing' means there's a personal element to it, too (“I’ll show you the life of the mind," says Goodman's Charlie Meadows).

The Coen brothers films — ranked

8. A Serious Man (2009)

A favourite with fans, this begins in a 19th-century Eastern European shelter and ends with the disclaimer that “No Jews were harmed in the making of this motion picture”. In between, we are treated to the Coens’ most personal film, pitched somewhere between the 'Book of Job' and Saul Bellow’s 'Herzog'. Michael Stuhlbarg is mesmerising as a Minnesotan physics professor who sees his life fall apart in 1967.

Focus Features

The Coen brothers films — ranked

7. O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)

The title may be a reference to Sullivan’s Travels, and the plot inspired by Homer's 'The Odyssey', but this is an astonishingly original musical that stands as the most joyous film in the siblings’ filmography. The soundtrack won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year and this sepia-tinted tale of convicts on the run during the Great Depression never fails to lift the spirits.

Touchstone/Universal/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock

The Coen brothers films — ranked

6. Blood Simple (1984)

The maverick filmmakers burst onto the scene with one of the most accomplished debuts in the history of the medium. Shot in just eight weeks, this is a startlingly violent neo-noir with moments of pure horror and that streak of bleak fatalism that would become a recurring theme.

The Coen brothers films — ranked

5. Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)

Quite possibly the film of the decade, 'Inside Llewyn Davis' stars Oscar Isaac as a folk singer struggling to make ends meet in and around the Greenwich Village scene of 1961. For anyone who’s ever embarked on a creative pursuit and was worried that talent alone might not be enough, this is more terrifying than any horror.

The Coen brothers films — ranked

4. The Man Who Wasn’t There (2001)

The Coens most underrated film, 'The Man Who Wasn’t There' was inspired by a poster showing various haircuts from the 1940s that the brothers came across while shooting 'The Hudsucker Proxy'. Billy Bob Thornton has never been better than he is playing Ed Crane, a quiet barber who suspects his wife of having an affair and becomes embroiled in the kind of classic noir perfected by Billy Wilder.

Working Title/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock

The Coen brothers films — ranked

3. No Country for Old Men (2007)

A crime classic cut from the same cloth as 'Fargo' and 'Blood Simple', this adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s novel won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay at the Oscars. It is the Coens’ most taut film and their most critically acclaimed this century. Javier Bardem as Anton Chigurh is a cinematic villain for the ages.

The Coen brothers films — ranked

2. Fargo (1996)

Deftly blending comedy and horror, this timeless crime caper propelled the Coens into the mainstream and spawned a widly successful television series. The screenplay won an Oscar; so, too, did Frances McDormand (wife of Joel) for her terrific performance as the pregnant police chief investigating a double homicide in Minnesota, birthplace of the filmmakers.

Gramercy Pictures

The Coen brothers films — ranked

1. The Big Lebowski (1998)

Creedence. White Russians. Bowling. We end where we began, and while some will argue that the Coen brothers have made deeper, wiser and worthier films – that’s just, like, their opinion, man. This is their funniest work and, after a lacklustre reception, its reputation has grown to the point where it is now the quintessential cult movie. More importantly, for large swathes of us, it is absolutely guaranteed to ensure a good mood. The film, like its hero and the brothers behind it, abides.

Rex Features

In January this year, Lee became caught up in the #MeToo movement when he was accused of sexually harassing his caretakers at his home in Los Angeles.

Lee denied the accusations at the time.

Agencies contributed to this report.

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